Hey guys, I just wanted to post this as a headsup. I own a Norinco SKS, and have never had much problems out of it. I dont shoot much, but Ive put about 300 or so rounds of military surplus ammo through it, had it slamfire once. The range I go to however now will not allow any ammo that sticks to a magnet, and the ammo I had did.

So I bought what they had that was range safe, Winchester 7.62x39. Wow! My SKS hated the stuff, it was very unsafe. I fired 35 rounds, it doubled about 4 times, fired 3 off one time. Then I started puting in just singles, I let the bolt go home on one and it fired. I had it down range, and luckily nothing bad happend. If you own an SKS though beware of the Winchester ammo. I read up and found out that the commercial ammo sometimes has softer primers then military specifications that the rifle was designed for. I guess that must be the case.

Check and make sure your firing pin is not binding up. I have the same Chinese rifle and had one slamfire myself. Found out my firing pin was ever so bent, just enough to make it stick. Could be an ammo problem, but slamfires are  quite common to the SKS. Before I fire my SKS, I've got in the habit of visually verifying that the pin is moving in its recess by retracting the bolt and tilting the rifle up and down. Please do this on a empty rifle.

Will somebody please tell me why a range would care about whether a cartridge has a steel or brass case ??????    IMHO that's wierd

ok here's my opinion:
the sks does not have a fireing pin spring so it may have a tendency slam fire with a couple of things that may cause that.
alot of folks take ther sks out and fire it without ever taking the bolt aprt and cleaning it, get all cosmoline out of it and after you get it back together make sure that fireing pin moved back and forth very freely, as if it sticks it will slam fire.
also check to make sure the firepin is not installed back ward as it can happen and will cause slam fires.
on any free floating fireing pin type of semi auto when you slam the bolt home soft primers may cause slam fires.

the problem with alot of ranges is that they do not allow a.p. ammo and anything that sticks to a magnet they are going to not let you shoot. it comes to mind that the range you go to does not know guns very good or they would realize that the case of the ammo is not a.p. and does not go down range and if they are that stupid I would find another place to shoot.
you might take a bullit tip out of the case and take it with you and show them like the box that the ammo comes with like wolf and it says h.p. or fmj and does not stick to the magnet and if they still would not let you shoot it, thats all you can do JUST DONT TAKE A AK47 OR SKS there anymore because you are running the risk of hurting yourself.  

jc121 has it right, make sure that firing pin is clean and can move easily if you take the bolt out and shake it.  I had the same problems as you have described using UMC ammo in my norinco.  After sticking to Wolf, I haven't had it happen since.  Too bad your range won't allow it though.

Quoted: Will somebody please tell me why a range would care about whether a cartridge has a steel or brass case ??????    IMHO that's wierd

Steel cases - easier to police the cases using a magnet, but nobody bothers to clean up.

Brass Cases - range can sell for scrap brass $$ and people are more likely to pick it up (for reloading).  It ends up keeping the range cleaner.

Yeah, the fireing pin moves freely. I brought it home and stripped it down right after to clean and and checked it out. If I shake the bolt the fireing pin moves back and forth. The rifle shoots great with the cheap military surplus stuff, it was just the ammo I think.

Quoted: Yeah, the fireing pin moves freely. I brought it home and stripped it down right after to clean and and checked it out. If I shake the bolt the fireing pin moves back and forth. The rifle shoots great with the cheap military surplus stuff, it was just the ammo I think.

I had problems with the Winchester 7.62x39 in my SKS too.  It had problems extracting & feeding - but no slamfire issues.  The same rifle shoots fine will all steel cased ammo.

Funny though it worked fine in my Dad's Russian SKS and shot really well.

on another note, NEVER let the bolt fall on a chambered round on ANY sks, with ANY ammo. Always place the cartridge in the magazine first.

The primers on the ammo are more sensitive, which is what may be causing the problem.  I've also noted that military 7.62mm will have the primer seated deeper in the primer pocket than most commercial stuff.  But anyway, you are correct in assuming it is the ammo.  I've used PMC soft points in AK, SKS, and Mini rifles with zero problems, probably because the primer is harder.

The SKS is known to have ignition issues.  I've experienced slam fires, double taps, and open breech ignition on SKSs.  I think they're great fun, but they're not an AK. ZT